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Orange County toll roads board takes up CEO resignation deal Thursday
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The agency that manages Orange County's toll roads considers a resignation deal with its current CEO Thursday. (Photo: The view of toll booths on the 73 toll road in Orange County. The Catalina View booths are among the cash collection stops to be closed as the Toll Road Agencies transition to an all electronic fee collection system by June 2014. (Photo courtesy: Transportation Corridor Agencies)
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The Transportation Corridor Agencies board is set to vote Thursday on a settlement plan with the outgoing chief executive of Orange County's toll road system.
TCA CEO Neil Peterson was placed on leave in February and has offered to resign after several board members were upset over contracts he signed without board approval.
TCA spokeswoman Lisa Telles said the agency allows CEOs to sign contracts worth up to $25,000.
"In some cases, they were renewed over a number of years which then increased the contract value," Telles said.
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Voice of OC has reported that several of those contracts increased substantially from their initial levels, one to $518,000.
Peterson's settlement deal would give him $78,845 in pay and benefits over the next three months, and he would be on leave from the agency during that time. His resignation would be official June 5. A confidentiality agreement also states that the TCA cannot disclose any information related to the contract issue to Peterson's prospective future employers.
The TCA board on Thursday will also consider appointing Michael Kraman as Acting Chief Executive Officer, an at annual salary of $229,000.
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